1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roll-film camera that is designed to use a roll-film (e.g., Brownie film) and provided with a photographic-data imprinting device for imprinting various photographic information such as the date of photography, shutter-speed information, exposure-value information, etc., on each picture frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
The medium-format cameras (e.g., roll-film cameras) are generally designed to use roll-film. The most popular roll-films are 120/220 and 620 format films, commonly known as Brownie films. The 120 and 620 format films have an opaque paper backing and is supplied wound onto an open spool (rather than in a light-tight cassette). 220 format film is supplied wound onto an open spool without backing. When a new roll of Brownie film is loaded in a medium-format camera, the film is firstly placed in the film compartment (for example, in the left compartment) and subsequently the end of the film leader is inserted into the slot in the film take-up spool which is previously positioned in the spool compartment (in the right compartment). Thereafter, the film take-up spool is driven to rotate in a film-winding direction to wind the film on the film take-up spool. The film take-up spool can be driven manually or driven by a motor. The film is wound onto the film take-up spool, frame by frame, each time a picture is taken. After taking the last exposure, the film is further wound onto the film take-up spool until the film is entirely wound onto the film take-up spool. Thereafter, the film, together with the spool (which was originally a vacant spool), is taken out of the spool compartment. Consequently, a vacant spool, on which unexposed film was originally wound, is left in the film compartment. This vacant spool is used as film take-up spool for the subsequent photographing when a new roll-film is loaded into the camera.
In a camera that uses Brownie film, every time a new roll-film is loaded into the camera, the vacant spool left in the film compartment needs to be taken out therefrom to be subsequently placed in the spool compartment before the new roll-film is placed in the film compartment, which is troublesome and time-consuming. Accordingly, it is difficult to replace an exposed roll-film with a new one in a quick manner, possibly leading to missing a photographic opportunity.
A photographic-data imprinting device for imprinting various photographic information such as the date of photography, shutter-speed information, exposure-value information, etc., on each picture frame is well-known. Photographic information is imprinted for example on each frame outside the rectangular image plane thereof in the vicinity of either lateral edge of the film. As a photographic-data imprinting device for roll-film cameras, a light emitter (data-imprinting light emitter) provided with an array of tiny light emitters arranged in a straight line for imprinting a character or graphic symbol in the form of a dot matrix is used. Each tiny emitter of the data-imprinting light emitter is sequentially turned ON and OFF in accordance with photographic information which is to be imprinted while the film is wound, thereby each character or graphic symbol of photographic information is imprinted on the film as a matrix-array of tiny dots.
A conventional photographic-data imprinting device for roll-film cameras will be hereinafter discussed with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. FIG. 17 shows part of a roll-film camera provided with a photographic-data imprinting device, while FIG. 18 shows characters in the form of a matrix-array of dots which are imprinted on a film by the photographic-data imprinting device. A camera body 200 is provided, between the film and spool compartments (not shown), with a rectangular aperture 210 which forms the limits of each frame exposed. The camera body 200 is provided on upper and lower sides of the aperture 210 with an upper pair of inner and outer film guide rails 910 and 900 and a lower pair of inner and outer film guide rails 230 and 220, respectively. A data-imprinting light emitter 240 is positioned in the vicinity of the aperture 210 between the inner and outer guide rails 230 and 220 of the lower pair. The data-imprinting light emitter 240 is composed of an array of seven LEDs D0, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D6 which are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the winding direction of the film (the horizontal direction as viewed in FIG. 17). A controller (not shown) provided in the camera selectively turns the seven LEDs D0 through D6 ON and OFF while synchronizing the light emissions thereof with the film feeding speed to thereby imprint a character or graphic symbol in the form of a matrix-array of dots on the film.
FIG. 19 shows an example of the particular case where the photographic data of the shutter speed "1/500 sec." and the F-number "F2.8" are imprinted on a film 4 to correspond to a rectangular exposed image EI while the film 4 is wound in the direction shown by an arrow "B" in FIG. 17 (i.e, in the direction to the right as viewed in FIG. 19). FIG. 18 is an enlarged plan view of the characters of the F-number "F2.8" imprinted on the film 4 shown in FIG. 19. In FIG. 18, exposed dots (imprinted dots) and unexposed dots (blank dots) are represented by black-square dots ".box-solid." and white-square dots ".quadrature.", respectively; and each vertical array of seven square dots corresponds to the seven LEDs D0 through D6, respectively. In FIG. 18, the matrix-array of square dots which together form the characters of the F-number "F2.8" are sequentially imprinted by ON/OFF emissions of the seven LEDs D0 through D6 from the right end 1 shown in FIG. 18 to the left end while the ON/OFF emissions of the seven LEDs D0 through D6 are synchronized with the feeding speed of the film 4 in the direction "B". Consequently, as shown in FIG. 19, the inverted characters "1/500 F2.8" are imprinted on the film 4 to correspond to the inverted exposed image EI. Therefore, when one puts the developed film strips in order with the photographed images thereof seen in an erect position, the imprinted photographic data can be read also in an erect position above the corresponding exposed image EI.
In the conventional data-imprinting device, as mentioned above, an array of LEDs are selectively turned ON and OFF while the light emissions thereof are synchronized with the film feeding speed to thereby imprint a character or graphic symbol in the form of a matrix-array of dots on the film. However, the aforementioned manner of imprinting a character or graphic symbol in the form of a matrix-array of dots on the film cannot be applied to the case where the film winding direction can be reversed. Namely, if the aforementioned data-imprinting control is simply adopted for the case where the film winding direction is opposite to the aforementioned film winding direction "B", vertical arrays of square dots are sequentially imprinted in the opposite direction, so that the photographic data would not be appropriately imprinted on film. FIG. 20 shows such a case where the photographic data of the shutter speed "1/500 sec." and the F-number "F2.8" are imprinted on the film 4 while the film is wound in the direction shown by an arrow "A" in FIG. 17 (i.e, in the direction to the left as viewed in FIG. 20). In this case the photographic data "1/500 F2.8" is imprinted as a mirror image thereof, so that the imprinted photographic data can be read properly from the reverse side of the film 4, not from the front side thereof, which is troublesome when reading the imprinted photographic data while seeing the photographed images on the film 4. Furthermore, when each frame of such a film 4 is developed, the photographic data for each frame is reversely imprinted on a photographic paper, which is not desirable.
In addition, according to a conventional photographic-data imprinting device for roll-film cameras, photographic data is imprinted immediately above each exposed image EI as the image thereon is viewed as an erect image (i.e., when the image shown in FIG. 19 is viewed upside down). Such photographic data is imprinted while the film is being wound by one frame after taking each shot, so that the photographic data is positioned immediately above the corresponding exposed image EI to correspond to approximately the median thereof in the film winding direction. Due to such control, if the film winding direction is reversed (i.e., the film is wound in the direction from right to left as viewed in FIG. 20), vertical arrays of dots are sequentially imprinted in the opposite direction, so that the photographic data is not appropriately imprinted on film as shown in FIG. 20. Furthermore, as can be seen in FIG. 20, the photographic data is imprinted extending over two adjacent frames (the corresponding exposed image EI and the following frame), rather than immediately above the corresponding exposed image EI, so that it is difficult to tell which of the two adjacent frames the imprinted photographic data belongs to.